• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Buffalo Schools Improve Scores; 4 Schools Off State List, but 1 Needs Improvement

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

Four Buffalo schools have been removed from the state's list of schools in need of academic improvement, and three others have been added. But two of the schools that were added have since been closed.

In addition, 28 Buffalo schools that previously were identified as needing improvement remain in that status. An additional 10 city schools remain on the "requiring academic progress" list, a designation for struggling schools that are not poor enough to receive federal Title I aid.

Added to the needing improvement list on Friday were: Hillery Park Academy (School 27), 73 Pawnee Parkway; WEB Early Childhood Center (School 71), 156 Newburgh St.; and WEB Middle School (School 171), 1409 E. Delavan Ave. The WEB schools were both closed before the start of this school year.

Removed from the list after improving shortcomings were the Buffalo Elementary School of Technology (School 6), 414 S. Division St.; North Park Academy (School 66), 780 Parkside Ave.; Houghton Academy (School 69), 1725 Clinton St.; and Waterfront Elementary (School 95), 95 Fourth St. Waterfront students are now attending classes elsewhere while the school undergoes renovations.

"We're very pleased that four schools have been removed from the list, but we still have a long way to go," said Constance M. Moss, a Buffalo schools assistant superintendent. She said an aggressive plan for academic improvement revolves around staff development, better use of test score data and better classroom practices.

Lackawanna Middle School, Jefferson Middle School in Jamestown, and Charles B. Gaskill and Niagara middle schools in Niagara Falls also were removed from the needing improvement list.

Suburban schools remaining on that list for at least two years include: Dunkirk Middle School and Ripley Central School in Chautauqua County; Lancaster Middle School and Sweet Home Middle School in Erie County; and Edward Towne Middle School in Niagara County.

Those still deemed to be requiring academic progress are: Pioneer High School, Lancaster High School, Hoover Middle School in the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District and North Tonawanda High School.

Once a school makes one of those lists, it remains on it for at least two years. A school needs to perform adequately for two consecutive years to get off the list.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools are cited as needing improvement or requiring academic progress because of low standardized test scores for particular groups of students -- often special education pupils -- or because not enough students participated in required state testing.

Statewide, 511 schools were identified Friday as needing improvement. Fifty-seven schools were newly identified this year, and 71 others were removed from the list. An additional 180 of the wealthier schools in the state are on the list of those requiring academic progress, including six new additions to the list this year.

Those tallies are lower than expected, thanks to waivers granted to New York by the U.S. Department of Education. Last year, suburban schools began creeping onto the lists, most often because of the scores of their special education students. That trend likely would have continued this year, if not for the waivers.

For this year only, schools were allowed to have 2 percent of their students -- those with the most profound cognitive disabilities -- take an alternative assessment. In previous years, only 1 percent of students could take it.

Another waiver provides a cushion in calculating the progress of students with disabilities, for schools whose scores fell short only in that subgroup.

State Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman said in an e- mail that the waivers kept some schools off the warning lists, but he did not know how many schools were affected.

"Needing improvement" status is not as severe as the "schools under registration review" designation that kicks in after several years of low performance. Registration review schools were not identified Friday.

"Requiring academic progress" does not result in the same degree of consequences as "needing improvement," such as mandatory school choice and additional tutoring.

e-mail: psimon@buffnews.com and mpasciak@buffnews.com

Source: Buffalo News

More News in this Category